As the vice president of a company that helps building owners and operators all across the country save water, I’m confronted with the magnitude of our thirst for water and the costs to meet that thirst every day. The statistics on the nation’s water use are quite eye opening! Right now withdrawals for drinking water from public water sources are approximately 45 billion gallons per day—that’s up from 15 billion gallons per day in the 1950s. And slightly more than 85% of the U.S. population, or about 255 million people, get their drinking water from public suppliers. That number continues trending upward. Between 1995 and 2000, public-supply withdrawals and the population served increased by 8%. States with the largest populations withdraw the largest quantities of water; California, New York, Michigan, Florida, North Carolina, and Illinois are the water use leaders. Our water and sewer delivery system is one of the best in the world, and this has surely helped to make our country great, and has helped to make our economy grow and flourish. Life as we know it in the western United States would be impossible today without the enormous ingenuity and effort it takes to supply ...